Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 150 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 292,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $78,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,959,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $917,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $1,274,000. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $972,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $304.11 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $283.87 and its 200 day moving average is $258.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $37.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.59.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.